COMELEC extends registration for barangay, SK elections

Kalibo, Aklan –Aklanons who were not able to register during the scheduled registration from July 22 to 29 to be able to vote for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections set on October 29 of this year can now register themselves, with the go signal given by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the extension.

The extension of nationwide registration runs from July 24 to 31 of this year for those who would be voting for barangay elections, while for SK, the extension is set July 28-29 and August 4-5.

Lorena Tumbagahan, OIC Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) and concurrently the Election Registrar of COMELEC-Kalibo said that for barangay election voters, registration will be facilitated at Municipal COMELEC Offices and for SK, at barangay halls or schools, wherever is agreed upon.

In barangay halls or schools which are called the filing centers, Tumbagahan said there will be a receiving committee to facilitate the registration, which would be composed of two public school teachers or even government employees if the former are not available.

The extension of COMELEC registration nationwide was brought about by the overwhelming turnout of registrants.

In Kalibo for instance, Tumbagahan said the COMELEC did not expect such big turnout of registrants, considering that the May 2007 elections was just held two months ago and before that, the COMELEC has conducted continuing voters’ registration.

“I was amazed to see that in the course of the eight days of registration, the COMELEC office was swamped from early morning until the evening with a big number of people who lined up for registration. There was even a man who was still confined in a hospital but went out to register and came to the office with dextrose attached to his body. There was also a woman who had given birth by caesarian section, but risked her well-being by lining up to register, even if she had just been operated on five days before. There was also this woman who lined up under the heat of the sun bringing her infant along. I also heard that a pregnant woman who was in the line felt dizzy, so she just went home,” Tumbagahan related when asked of her observations.

Tumbagahan said that since 1997, the COMELEC conducted a continuing registration of voters. She found out too, in the course of the registration period, that some brand new or first-time registrants, have ages ranging from 25, 28, 30 and others 50 up. To be sure, COMELEC-Kalibo looked into the files of the office to see if these people had registered already, but no records were found.

Most of those who registered, according to Tumbagahan, wanted to transfer within the municipality. For instance, Tumbagahan said some Brgy. Buswang New voters registered to transfer to Brgy. Buswang Old or anywhere else in Kalibo; some wanted to transfer from other municipalities, while others came outside the province.

Tumbagahan said COMELEC officers from the different municipalities here also shared almost the same experiences and observations.

The COMELEC here expects that registration during the extended period in Aklan will be peaceful and orderly. (PIA/Venus G. Villanueva)